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I« 2 Portland Ob» ™ « ' April 2
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EDITORIAL/OPINION
Malagasy: Island paradise
By Fungai Kumbula
tsoa. The current President, Rat-
the clear blue skies and the spotless siraka, seems to have done quite a
Three hundred miles east of the
beaches are just intoxicating.
Mozambican coast in the Sea of
job of stabilizing this island
Th Malagasians do not help mat
Shaka. (sometimes erroneously
ters any at all either. Like their paradise.
called the Indian Ocean) lies one of
Malagasy does not boast too
counterparts throughout Africa,
the most beautiful islands in the
many resources and so her pace ol
they have an irrepressible zest for
reasons and also th a t in v e s tig a tio n s and world. The island in question is
development has been rather slow
life and living. Here and there one and not quite at pace with her young
disciplinary findings cannot be made public. If Malagasy perhaps better known by
bumps into home-grown and self-
th is is tru e , changes should be made in the its old name M adagascar. At
population. She is still heavily
taught troubadours. Using drums,
300,000 square miles in area, it is
dependent on former colonial ex
next contract. A lthough the union is charged
banjos and a wide array of in
almost twice as large as California.
ploiter, France, for much of her
w ith representing its members, the protection
struments fashioned out of the sim
Though separated from the
trade and foreign exchange. As the
of a fe w "b a d c o p s " is a disservice to those African mainland by the Mozam plest m aterials, they accompany
African Economic community en
themselves singing as they go about
who w ant to provide a public service. It is un bique Channel, Malagasy is part of
visaged for the mainland takes
their everyday busines be it vending
fortuna te th a t all police officers are tarnished the African continent and belongs
shape by the turn of this century,
or working at some craft or driving
by the acts of a few and the quiet consent of to the Organization of African
Malagasy hopes to benefit from that
Unity as well as several other intra-
a cab.
and become healthier economically.
They are by no means wealthy,
others.
African organizations. It is
Lying on the beach looking over
but that is only because we tend to
A n o th e r q u e s tio n th a t needs to be a d populated by Africans and descend
the hazy blue Sea of Shaka with
count wealth in terms of
dressed is the Probasco Case, w h y its orders ents of the Polynesians and Mayay-
green plam fronds providing shade
possessions. In terms of content
sians.
The
island
is
therefore,
a
mix
are n o t ca rrie d o u t, and w h o sh o u ld be
in the background under the bluest
ment, there is hardly a people
of African and Polynesian culture
of blue skies, it is easy for one to
m onitoring the police in this regard.
anywhere on the face of the earth to
producing a unique and interesting
imagine that one has died and gone
rival them.
A co m m u n ity co alitio n - based som ew hat hybrid.
straight to paradise. One can easily
Since gaining independence from
If there is one word that can be
forget the real world of polluted
on the successful C o m m u n ity C o a litio n fo r
France
in
1962,
Malagasy
has
had
used to describe Malagasy, the word
skies, crowded freeways, guns,
School Integration - is in the form ation stages.
her fair share of problems;
is “ green.” Everywhere one looks,
possums and the like. When I finally
This is a forum that can study and investigate
there is a proliferation of green and developmental, political, economic
screw enough courage to walk down
the Police Bureau from all angles. It should be a profusion of flowers. Malagasy is and unfulfilled expectations. There
that long, long aisle, you know
have been two coups, first against
for lovers; Malagasy is for the
greated w ith pleasure by the C om m issioner
where I will be going for my honey
President Tsiranana and then again
and by the po lice u n io n . A ll re co rd s, in fo r young-at-heart; Malagasy is for the
moon!
st his successor President Ramanan-
romantic. The flowers, the green.
m a tio n and perso n n e l sh o u ld be m ade
availa ble in th e in te re s t o f an in d e p e n d e n t
assessm ent o f ju s t w h a t is g o in g on in the
Welcome police coalition
We com m end Comm issioner Charles J o r
dan for his decision to terminate tw o police o f
ficers involved in the "possum incident . This
decision was essential to the encouragem ent
of proper po lice dem eanor and to p u b lic
respect.
,
We do not think the decision has gone tar
enough - at least n o t yet. Only a com ple te
revelation of the facts on activities leading to
the incident, the incident itself and the co n
duct of the investigation w ill allow the public
to believe that only tw o officers were involved.
We also cannot accept the explanation that
the in c id e n t was n o t racial in in te n t. True,
every act of a white against a black is not racist
in intent - but we believe this one was.
W h a t happens n e xt is c ru c ia l. P o rtlan d
needs a good police force - one that can and
w ill protect citizens and treat all citizens w ith
re sp e ct. T h a t respect has been to o long
lacking. Abuse by the police has been reported
repeatedly and yet the same officers are still on
tho stroet
We have been told that the union contract
precludes reassigning officers for disciplinary
A time for unity
Bureau and w hy.
By Calvin O. L. Henry
Two must go
If press reports are co rre c t, S ecretary of
State Alexander Haig informed the press after
the assassination a tte m p t on P resident
Reagan th a t he had taken charge of the US
governm ent. This is the same General Haig
w ho ran the governm ent during the closing
days of the Nixon Adm inistration. There were
reports at that tim e th a t because Nixon was
emotionally unstable, and Vice President Ford
did not care to intervene, Haig, as assistant to
Nixon, was in control of the government.
By declaring him self in co n tro l as Reagan
lay in the hospital, Haig demonstrated that he
does not understand our system of g o ve rn
m ent. The President was s till very m uch in
control, and if he were declared incompetent
to serve, the Vice President would take charge
- not the Secretary of State.
In light of Haig's earlier attem pts to become
the Chief of foreign policy - a pow er held by
the President and Congress - Haig should be
dismissed.
It seems like only a short tim e ago that US
Am bassador to the UN A n d re w Y oung was
fire d because of his in d is c re tio n in h o ld in g
unauthorized meetings w ith the PLO. Am id a
great uproar, his services w ere te rm in a te d .
N o w Jeane K irk p a tric k th e c u rre n t a m
bassador to the UN has m et w ith m ilitary and
intelligence officers of South Africa - clearly a
violation of US policy. She should be fired.
Both Haig and K irk p a tric k are dangerous
people - to this country and to the w orld. We
would be better o ff w ith o u t them.
There have been many different
reports about four dead opossums
being thrown in front of a Black-
owned restaurant in Northeast Port
land. The culprits were uniformed,
on-duty Portland police officers.
This incident was an affront to all
Oregonians.
Two white police officers who
admitted their participation in the
escapade were fired last Friday by
police Commissioner Charles Jor
dan and Chief Bruce Baker.
However, these officers denied that
there were any racial implications to
their indiscretion.
And it was reported that Jordan
and Baker said they believed the in
cident was not racially inspired but
was meant as a prank. They said
citizen outrage over the opossum
dumping had hurt the department
and the officers had to be ter
minated.
But, should the credibility of
Portland police department be the
real issue rather than the citizen
outrage over the incident? I he
editorial writer of the Corvallis
Gazette-Times noted that this in
cident “ showed there is a lack of
discipline in the departm ent that
allows officers to goof off when
they should be tending to the
business the taxpayers are paying
them to do.”
According to the Corvallis
Gazette-Times, “ the officers’ ex
planation that the possum affair
was an attempt to relieve tensions
and get people to laugh again has a
hollow ring to it. If that were truly
their intentions, they need a little
psychological instruction in the
department.”
On March 25, 1981, the
Oregonian reported, “ City Com
missioner Charles Jordan charged
that ‘opportunists’ in the Black
community have ‘exploited the in
cident in which policemen threw
dead opossums in from of a Black-
owned restaurant in NE Portland.’
Bruce Broussard, publisher of the
Portland Observer, and Ronnie
Herndon, Co-Chairm an of the
Black United Front, were identified
as the “ opportunists” who held
news conferences and organized a
march on city hall.
Broussard and Herndon are
relatively new voices to the struggles
of Blacks in Portland. They have
not limited themselves with old
definitions of Black involvement.
And they do not have the complete
sanctions of the traditional groups
and organizations. But, should
they?
The Oregonian quoted Jordan as
saying, “ the news conferences only
promoted ill will, have been an em-
brassment to the Black community,
and have not had any influence on
what 1 will do.”
It is unfortunate that these oppor
tunistic statements were made, and
that more collective efforts were not
expended to solve this issue. Per
sonalities should not get in the way
of solving problems affecting the
Black community.
Should Blacks be condemned as
opportunists just because they are
willing to break with traditions, and
speak out against wrongdoings by
the police in the Black community?
On this possum incident, Herndon
and Broussard were right to express
the citizen outrage. More Black
leaders and citizens should have
joined the effort of holding the
Portland Police Department ac
countable for the actions of police
men.
Many questions are still left unan
swered. Was this an example of
abuse of power by policemen?
Where was the Mayor of Portland
on the incident? Is there a need for
citizen-police review board?
Many whites and Blacks have
discussed this incident with me.
They were appalled that Portland
policemen had so little respect for
Blacks or the Black community. It
was equally difficult for these in
dividuals to understand why this in
cident was seen by the police com
missioner as not being racially
motivated.
One white public official stated
that if the policemen had dumped
dead opossums in front of the
Hilton Hotel, there would not be
any question about the actions
taken.
Perhaps the real challenge is yet
to come. The old and new voices
must work together to insure that
the Black community is protected
rather than victimized by the police.
Letters to the Editor
More on possums
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oa » ‘ M ,» i»
C
aanaaat
To the Editor:
As Oregon taxpayers, we need to
take a close look at our City govern
ment. The situation of boosting
police morale by gathering dead
animals and placing them in front of
a public restaurant, on city time,
outrages me. 1 no longer have faith
in our city government or our local
police department to protect my
rights as a citizen or my home from
local businessmen like Robert
Harris and various high local
government officials.
Ironically, in two situations, the
same family and the same individual
have been victimized. My father is
To the Editor:
The Black community and con
cerned citizens from diverse sections
of Oregon, have made it known how
they feel about the dumping of four
dead possums, in front of the
Burger Barn restaurant.
And, all would seem well and
good; the possums have been buried
in a secret grave; two Portland
police officers who confessed their
participation in the dumping, have
been fired; and April came in like a
lamb. But, all is not well.
There seems to be some question
concerning who speaks for the
Black community. For example,
prior to the March 25th demon
stration, some Blacks and whites
fighting to hold on to the home he
has owned for more than 23 years.
Without his knowledge, Bob Harris,
a close friend to several government
officials, purchased my father’s
home for $176.35. To add insult to
injury, local police decided to raise
their morale by dumping dead
animals in front of my father’s place
of business with no regard for his
rights or anyone else’s.
We are living in dangerous times
when the George Powes of the
world remain the victims of their
own government.
Valerie Powe Robinson
were upset that the community
chose to express its sentiments
without first seeking approval from
the city fathers. One of the main ex
pressions that emerged from this at
titude was “ Opportunists.”
It’s amazing that the city fathers
and their cohorts should continue to
under estimate the Black com
m unity’s ability to mobilize its
forces to deal with many of the
serious problems facing Blacks.
No one thought the one-day, school
boycott was going to be successful.
No one thought hundreds of people
(Black, white, red. and yellow)
would participate in the dem on
stration. What this means is, the city
fathers will continue lo under
To the Editor:
For the two policemen who were
fired for gathering and delivering
the carcass of dead animals upon
private property (a violation of city
law), before their dismissal, these
policemen should have been
required to walk that beat for eight
hours with a “ POSSUM" in each
hand, with Commissioner Jordan,
his Police Chief, and the officers
who ignored the incident standing
guard.
This behavior may have been in
nocent and stupid, but these were
policemen “ on duty” carrying guns
while supposedly protecting the city.
Sincerely,
Julius Stokes
estimate the community’s ability,
and the community will continue
with
its efforts
at
mass
m obilization. This is one of the
reasons the word “ opportunists”
ended up being the created ex
pression of a few. It was not the cry
of the Black community.
The for real shock waves will
come when the city fathers realize
that new voices arc emerging from
the Black community; voices not
dictated by tradition, but by
necessity. You see the community
knows that it was possums yester
day, but it might be our children
being dumped on our doorsteps
tomorrow.
Vt’CM i/s/ A 'kuri
K